It's more a rule than an exception, that people who rise to fame early on in life, have a breakdown or need a break altogether. Boy bands like New Kids On The Block had taken a break on their height of success, so it should’ve come as no surprise that One Direction needs to take on too.
However, solo artists like Britney Spears and Justin Bieber seem to just rebel. Justin Bieber's years of turmoil look like they’ve come to an end now with the release of songs like “Where Are U Now”, “What Do You Mean” and his new single release “Sorry”. They, and a remix of “What Do You Mean?" with Ariana Grande, are all preceding his new album “Purpose”.
With them, he seems to be one of the few teen stars, who has managed to come back and pick up where he left off. If not become even bigger, which is a shocking surprise to most. Yesterday, Justin Bieber has won big at the MTV EMAs, making his comeback success final, even without his album being released yet! So, what makes his comeback more successful than for instance, Britney Spears, who also had a public era of, let’s say, problems arising. Britney, as a solo artist, never was able to regain the European success she had before.
I actually think that Justin's odds were in his favor to begin with. Musically, even in his troubled years, he has released a couple of R&B tracks, that started swaying the radio DJs over in Europe. And when they take notice, you know something starts to happen.
During Britney's black out, she lost the interest of radio DJs out here and they pretty much, stopped playing her solo stuff, with a few exceptions. But there is a difference. Britney, musically, picked up the sound she was already doing, while Justin Bieber reinvented himself by teaming up with the best of names from the underground dance scene, Skrillex and Diplo.
These collaborations were the final push to not only win radio over, but also connect him to a new, older, audience (like me), without alienating his younger audience. He tuned into what was already popular. Britney also turned to dance music quickly into her comeback, but has made a mix of pop and dance, which has probably been a bit too much "in between" for Europe. Her pop side is not in tune to what's going on anymore, and her dance side is not edgy enough either. On a personal note, I get the feeling that Justin seems to be very focused, probably seeing a “Purpose” now, where as Britney still felt she was caught in a "Circus" when she originally came back. But, with this comeback set to be bigger than before, do you think ‘the Biebs” can handle it a second time around?
